THE former lover of kiss-and-tell lap dancer Pamela James - finally exposed as the mystery mistress of soccer star Garry Flitcroft - said: "She's a female Walter Mitty!"

Manchester Airport IT worker Adrian Bowlas, 30, spoke for the first time to the Macclesfield Express over his affair with the sizzling stripper who hit the headlines after a court gagging order was finally lifted on a sex scandal which intrigued the nation.

She and another girl went public on their sexploits with married love cheat, former Manchester City star and Blackburn 'Rover' Garry Flitcroft.

They branded him a cad for leading them on - claiming his intentions were anything but honourable.

Flitcroft spent £200,000 on legal bills preventing identifying the sex triangle - himself, Pamela James, and a third girl, Helen Hammonds.

The story, with all its sordid details, was published but with the names omitted and the faces pixilated.

But last week High Court judge Lord Woolf ruled the secrecy order be lifted - and the scandal hit the world with a vengeance.

But talking at his Bollington home, Adrian said of his old flame: "We had a great time and there are no regrets and we split up amicably. Over all this stuff, Pamela knew what she was doing.

"This is not a case of a vulnerable and innocent young woman, like the picture the national newspapers have painted.

"And Garry Flitcroft should not be seen as some predatory love rat who preyed on her. There's more to this than meets the eye."

Adrian, who shared his cosy terraced home with 26-year-old willowy blonde Pamela for three years, met her when she was a Caledonian airline hostess.

"We had a lot of fun together. But she was always a bit unhinged," he said.

"She is as mad as cheese - a sandwich short of a picnic, a real Walter Mitty. She doesn't know where reality ended and fantasy begins."

Adrian, who now lives with stunning blonde 22-year-old air hostess Kelly Pimlott, said he last saw Pamela a year ago. They recently spoke on the phone. She said she was calling from Australia, where she is still believed to be, but she never mentioned the scandal.

"There is no animosity between us. We split up and it's water under the bridge. I'm really happy with Kelly now. She's a smashing girl and fun to be with."

Pamela James, a beautiful blonde with a 34-23-34 figure, spoke to us exclusively three years ago after she quit her air hostess job to become a nude lap dancer at the exclusive Secrets club in London.

Amazingly she said at the time: "I have always been insecure about my body. I wouldn't even consider taking off my bikini top to sunbathe on a topless beach."

She said she was glad to have swapped her jet set lifestyle for an even more glamorous job earning more than £500 a night stripping - G-string and all.

She returned to work at the newly opened Fantasy Bar in Alderley Edge and was a barmaid at the Legh Arms in neighbouring Prestbury.

Only months later Pamela was to meet Garry Flitcroft at his birthday party at a Manchester club.

Afterwards they had clandestine meetings at The Kingfisher pub in Poynton.

At the time Adrian was working in Amsterdam for KLM.

"Pamela came out to see me twice, and she did mention Garry's name on one of those occasions," he said.

"I didn't think any more about it. It wasn't important."